Ahsan, Rahman,
New Delhi: Top Bollywood financier and diamond merchant Bharat Shah has filed a police complaint claiming he had received threatening calls from a Dubai-based person.
He has named some people specifically in the report, which was filed at the Malabar Hill police station.
According to news agency PTI, a man named Shetty had allegedly called up Shah saying he would "wipe out" the financier and his family.
A senior Crime Branch official ruled out the involvement of the underworld in the threats, saying the calls were believed to be the outcome of some property dispute.
Shah was quoted on PTI as saying that the caller told him, "You should realise that I am calling as it is an urgent matter. And it will not be good for you if you do not stay out of the property or take action regarding it.
Shah himself has been on the wrong side of the law for various reasons. In 2003, the police blew the cap on Bharat Shah, who was convicted of financing his films using the underworld money.
The producer of the film, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Naseem Rizvi was also convicted. The bold testimony of actor Preity Zinta established the dirty nexus.
(With inputs from PTI)
Bollywood's Shah guilty in mob case
Ruling is first proven connection between mafia, film biz
By BRYAN PEARSONNEW DELHI -- Bollywood film mogul Bharat Shah was found guilty in a Mumbai court Tuesday of withholding information that the criminal underworld had muscled in on his 2000 pic "Chori chori, chupke chupke" (On the Quiet, Hush Hush).
The sessions court also found that producers Nasim Rizvi and his colleague, Abdul Rahim Allabux Khan, had worked with the underworld.
This is the first time the police have proved a connection between India's prolific film industry and its Muslim-dominated mafia.
All three are expected to be sentenced today, with Shah facing up to seven years in jail and the other two life imprisonment.
Police claimed "Chori" was produced at the behest of Dubai-based underworld don Chhota Shakeel.
While the judge, A.P. Bhangale, found no direct link between Shah and the underworld, he ruled that Rizvi and Khan had worked hand-in-glove with Shakeel to threaten and extort money from film personalities.
Shah, he said, had been convicted of "being aware of organized crime syndicates working during the financing of the film and not setting the law in motion by informing the police of this activity."
He said Shah, by concealing the information, facilitated criminal activities such as extortion threats to film personalities during and after the making of the movie.
Shah is the producer of Bollywood's costliest move, the $10 million "Devdas" (Pining Lover).
He was first arrested in 2001 and charged with forging links with the underworld and using slush funds to make movies. He had been in jail awaiting trial for nearly 18 months but is out on bail.
Police called a string of thesps and producers as witnesses against the financier, among them superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
However, 11, including Khan and stars such as Salman Khan and director Mahesh Manjrekar, turned hostile and refused to testify.
Only actress Preity Zinta testified to having received threats from the underworld.
What struck me about the whole incident was the media's hailing Preity as the only "hero" in the film-industry, with comparisons to Mrs. Indira Gandhi who was referred to as the "only man" in her cabinet. I wondered, is heroism or a show of courage, the prerogative of men?
My first exposure to Preity Zinta as a person was when I saw her being quizzed by Amitabh Bachchan in Kaun Banega Crorepathi, India's franchised version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. She sat there minus star airs, exhibiting the natural nervousness of a wannabe quizzer, as also the exuberance of a vivacious personality, whenever Amitabh said, "That's the right answer," in his booming baritone. Her pretty dimples kept flashing without any affectation. In between quizzing, Amitabh kept throwing questions at her about her life and her filmi experiences, and she answered all of them with aplomb while some of the replies were interspersed with giggles whenever she touched upon a funny incident.
It was after this that I made it a point to watch a couple of films involving Preity, namely Mission Kashmir and Dil Chahta Hai. She acquitted herself creditably in both though the former bombed, while the latter turned out to be a runaway success at the box-office.
The actress found herself the focus of media attention when the film producer Bharat Shah got hauled in by the police for the alleged mafia funding of the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke in which Preity was to play the lead role. She was again in the news over her alleged involvement with India's chocolate hero, Aamir Khan, and her response to the rumours that she had secretly married him was, "I am not prepared to play the role of a second wife!"
All these gave glimpses of the spirited Preity but nothing won her accolades more than her willingness to testify in the Mumbai courts about extortion and life threats from Mumbai's film mafia. She did this even as many of India's leading heroes turned hostile as witnesses including the macho Salman and Hrithik and the smooth-talking Shahrukh. By doing so, Preity gave a huge boost to the Mumbai police force and virtually saved their investigations from turning to naught.
What struck me about the whole incident was the media's hailing Preity as the only "hero" in the film-industry, with comparisons to Mrs. Indira Gandhi who was referred to as the "only man" in her cabinet. I wondered, is heroism or a show of courage, the prerogative of men?
Very early in my career, I was forced to take a decision in one of my jobs about blowing the whistle on a manager of the branch office of a Chennai organisation who was siphoning off company money to fund a separate business. While the men in the accounts department kept sharing information with me (as second in the set-up), they were a little reluctant to bell the cat. I agonised for a week not so much over the fear of losing my job if I was not believed (I was confident about my ability to get things across in the right way) as about harming the reputation of an innocent man if I was wrong. Finally, with enough proof, I took the ultimate step of getting in touch with headquarters. Senior people rushed over and the company was saved from further losses. I was neither garlanded nor given a scroll of honour. I did not expect it either as I just did what I felt I had to.
Last year Time magazine chose three women as the magazine's 2002 Persons of the Year and all three graced the cover of the December 23rd issue. The three women, Coleen Rowley (FBI), Sherron Watkins (Enron) and Cynthia Cooper (WorldCom) were whistle blowers in their organisations. The Time Managing Editor wrote in the issue, "In a year that saw our trust in American institutions tested so severely, what better way to capture that news than to profile three ordinary people who in extraordinary ways tried to restore confidence in business and government." Time honoured these women for their courage and wrote, "They were people who did right just by doing their jobs rightly - which means ferociously, with eyes open and with the bravery the rest of us always hope we have and may never know if we do." Bravery and the courage of one's convictions is something that comes from within and is most certainly not the natural birthright of any particular gender.
So, to go back to Preity, let us laud her for her courage without attaching tags. But I certainly hope that some film director will have the innovativeness to make films in which Preity rescues dozens of heroes not by using brawn but through her intelligence and courage. Plots could range from the modernised version of a Savitri (and Satyavan) or a Portia (Merchant of Venice). Who knows, these may result in a new genre of Hindi filmmaking and give us a much-needed break from the routine hero-bashing-up-villain plots. Way to go, Preity. We are proud of you!
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When Shah Rukh Khan and all other freaking bigwigs of Bollywood turned hostile, she is the only one who stuck to the case. SRK was recorded talking to Dawood Ibrahim and so where the rest, She was the only one who told dawood I am sorry, I cannot do your bidding.
I give her full points, If she talks a little brattish I dont care, atleast she is honest and true to her words and these stupid Hero's.
She is born to an Indian Army guy, as well she does a lot of things for the Army, esp fund-raising. Its better than those other idiots. She has guts, honesty and integrity. I prefer that, more than any other woman like qualities.
Adu
:pdf1:
nice of Neo Jee :love: 
